


Safe At Last

by T_Rahz



Series: Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga [2]
Category: Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
Genre: Bollywood, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga - Freeform, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 19:12:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17648345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/T_Rahz/pseuds/T_Rahz
Summary: Just another one-shot set at the wedding house where they met.A sort of loose continuation to "not so alone anymore" but with more spoilers this time. So if you haven't seen the movie and don't want to be spoilt, your journey ends here. To everyone else, enjoy!





	Safe At Last

Sweety’s mind was far. She was wandering through the corridors of Amrit’s family home, absent-mindedly running her hand along the garlands of orange and yellow marigolds covering the wall as she passed. Her thoughts were lost on everything that had happened the day before, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that there was someone just like her in this very house! She smiled. Kuhu was real. Kuhu liked girls and might even like her in that way. She blushed and leaned back on the wall of flowers, allowing herself to fully bask in this feeling. The sweet fragrant scent of the marigolds felt like a lover’s embrace wrapping around her. Her blush deepened. That lover was no longer some abstract concept brought forward from her teenage imagination. That lover had a name now… and a face… and arms to hold her safely away from the harsh, unforgiving society they lived in. She shook her head, as if to clear her mind. It was too soon. Kuhu was definitely no Gurvinder, but she didn’t want to read too much into something that wasn’t there yet. She needed to know how Kuhu felt about her first.

 

“Are you always like this?” She opened her eyes to see Kuhu staring intently at her. Speak of the devil.

 

“J..j..ji?” She chastised herself inwardly the moment it left her lips. Why did this girl’s mere presence reduce her to a stuttering, monosyllabic mess?

 

“You know, the whole forever lost in thought kinda thing you have going on there…. what’s that about? Or were you really just taking a nap against the people's wall?” Kuhu asked teasingly, turning around to lean on the wall next to her. Sweety inhaled deeply, not entirely surprised that even with the air steeped in the scent of the marigolds, Kuhu’s perfume still penetrated the thick sweetness to reach her nose. What was that scent called? It was really nagging at her now. She could just ask of course, but where was the fun in that? Besides, with the track record she was setting, she would probably trip over her words so much that the girl would think she suffered from some kind of debilitating speech impairment. She huffed out an annoyed sigh at her own apparent imcompetence.

 

“Ohkaaaay then… I seem to have touched a nerve there. Sorry bout that. I’ll just get out of your hair and leave you to it then.” Kuhu apologised, waiting for any kind of response from Sweety before turning to leave. Without thinking, Sweety reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling with a little too much force, causing her to spin around and crash flush into Sweety's body. They both gasped audibly at the brief but intimate contact before quickly jumping back from each other.

 

“S-sorry. I didn’t mean to pull you so hard,” Sweety apologised, “I..I…y..you make me nervous,” she admitted shyly, looking everywhere but at Kuhu.

 

“I know,” Kuhu smiled, “And I know yesterday was a lot to take in but you know you can talk to me right?” she encouraged, dipping her head to try and catch Sweety's gaze.

 

Sweety looked up at her. She wanted to, God knows she wanted nothing more than to spend more nights like last night, listening to Kuhu and sharing her innermost thoughts with her. But she had spent so much of her life in silence, only finding release in her paint brushes and pen nibs that actually talking intimidated her a bit. But she had to try. This girl was definitely worth breaking down some of those walls she had built around herself. She nodded, not breaking eye contact for a second. Kuhu grinned widely and extended her hand in invitation to Sweety who interlocked their fingers without hesitation. Before she knew it, she was being swiftly pulled along the corridor, around corners, through open doorways and up a staircase, Kuhu turning back from time to time to check in with her and offer a reassuring smile, until they emerged on the sunlit rooftop. They both stopped for a moment to catch their breaths, neither caring to unlink their hands. Kuhu pulled her once more, leading her a bit slower this time to a cosy-looking cot against a shaded wall on the other side. They both sat with their backs against the wall but bodies naturally angled towards each other. It was then that Sweety noticed that Kuhu was still holding on to her hand and she blushed deeply. A gentle tug on her hand caused he to look up into Kuhu's eyes.

 

"You're cute when you blush like that, you know," Kuhu flirted, her thumb caressing the girl's soft hand, causing Sweety's face to turn a few shades redder. She reached out and brushed her knuckles against Sweety's cheeks.

"I want to get to know you....if that's okay with you of course," she asked and the girl nodded, bravely reaching up with her free hand to cup Kuhu's cheek. Kuhu smiled and Sweety marveled at the fact that she was the cause of that smile. After a few moments of just being lost in each other, Kuhu broke the silence, shifting so that they could both rest comfortably against the wall, but with their sides pressed against each other and their interlocked hands resting on her thigh.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

"So many things, I don't even know where to begin," Sweety responded without missing a beat, relieved that she was finally able to string a coherent sentence together.

"How about start with something small," Kuhu encouraged, looking at Sweety with pure adoration written all over her face.

Sweety looked up and smiled, "Did you always know?" She asked timidly.

Kuhu's expression turned momentarily confused before recognition registered.

 

"Oh! No, I wouldn't say I always knew, but I did figure it out early on. Actually, it was Raza who called me out on it. I had a huge crush on this girl in his class and he used to tease me about it all the time." Kuhu recalled fondly. Sweety's expression changed to an odd mixture of awe and confusion. How could Kuhu be so calm and happy about her brother knowing?

 

"Hey," Kuhu snapped her fingers infront Sweety's face, "you're zoning out on me again. Bolo na, What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Your brother knows... And you're ok with it? HE'S ok with it?" Sweety asked, not bothering to mask her shock.

"Ya.. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's an annoying pain in the ass about it half the time, especially when he’s trying to get me to check out girls with him, but he's always been on my side," she responded light-heartedly. Kuhu didn't miss the way Sweety's eyes saddened as she disconnected their hands and turned away from her.

Kuhu stood up and walked over to Sweety, kneeling before her and gently tilting the girl’s chin up so she could look into her eyes.

“Hey, what is it? Did something happen?” She asked worriedly, her heart breaking for this girl she was rapidly falling for. A few tears escaped the girl’s brimming eyes and rolled down her cheek before she broke eye contact and looked away.

“Sweety....hey,” Kuhu whispered, cupping Sweety’s cheek and drawing back her focus from the distant temple. “Please, talk to me, trust me?” She begged, wanting to destroy whoever it was that hurt this girl so much.

“Babloo Virji.... he doesn’t like me like this.... he..... he doesn’t like that...that I like girls,” Sweety broke down fully now. This was the first time she had ever said it out loud. That she liked girls. It felt liberating yet still so very scary. What if someone heard her? What if they told Babloo? Or even worse, her father?! What would people say? Her father would be the laughing stock of the entire village. She was hyperventilating now. Her breaths coming in erratically and getting stuck in her throat. Was God punishing her for saying it out loud? Her heart felt like it was trying to hammer its way out of her chest. She looked around wildly, but it felt like she couldn’t see anything; nothing to focus on to anchor her. What was happening?

 

“Sweety...hey...Sweety....can you hear me? Listen to my voice.” Someone was calling her name. The voice was soothing, calm, she knew that voice, trusted it. A hand was resting gently on her cheek now, concerned brown eyes coming into focus.

“That’s it, focus on me, listen to my voice, breathe with me,” the voice encouraged her. With prompting from the voice, she took a deep breath in, held it, then exhaled slowly. A few more breaths in and out until she could feel her body relax a bit. Kuhu’s face came fully into focus now.

“Sorry,” she apologised meekly.

 

“Hey, no....you have nothing to be sorry about. You had a panic attack, that’s not something you have to apologize for,” she moved to sit next to Sweety, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into a loose embrace. “Whatever it is that you’re going through, whatever it is that you’re feeling, never apologise for it. And whenever you’re ready to talk about it, I’ll be right here, ok?” Kuhu promised, tightening the embrace to convey that she really meant it. Sweety looked up at Kuhu and nodded before resting her head on the girl’s shoulder. Kuhu pulled her in closer and Sweety linked their fingers once more. She felt safe enough to finally open up about her years of suffocation, fear and internalized homophobia.

 


End file.
